Dairy royalty hopefuls for Cavan show

Dairy royalty hopefuls for Cavan show

Pictured at the 2015 Diageo Baileys Champion Dairy Cow Competition at the Virginia Show, Co. Cavan is the winning breeder John Barrett from Togher Co. Cork with from left the competition sponsors Breffni O’Reilly of Diageo; Henry Corbally, Glanbia Ingredients and special guest Mairead McGuinness MEP.

The cream of the country’s dairy ‘queens’ from the top herds will compete for the most prestigious annual dairy award in Ireland and Britain when they parade the judging ring at the €10,000 Diageo Baileys All Ireland Dairy Cow Championship at Virginia Show tomorrow.

Challenged with the task of deciding the 35th Diageo Bailey Champion Cow is David Hodgson, who farms 350ac just outside Carlisle, where his Wormanby Herd consists of 190 milking cows with an average yield of 11,000kg.

His herd was judged Holstein UK Premier Herd in 2015 and has been a Master Breeder Herd since 2009, while David has been on the Holstein UK National Judging Panel for the last 15 years.

This will be his third time judging in this country and he is a former judge of the UK National Herd Competition Final, the ABAB Calf Show, the South West Dairy Show and the Celtic Showcase.

Organisers are coy about releasing the identity of the lineout of cows for tomorrow’s 2018 Dairy Championship which is being secretly guarded until the contesting ‘queens’ of the country’s dairyland arrive in the judging ring tomorrow afternoon.

However, it is confirmed that winner of the coveted award in 2017, Hilltara Lanthority Echo 2 from the herd of Sam McCormick, Bangor, Co Down, will not be defending her title. It is understood that there is no entry from the herd this year, but the North is nevertheless expected to be in contention to retain the award.

Up to 25 contestants are expected to lineout for the judging, representing a “who’s who” of the top dairy cows in the country. The spread of entrants goes from Wexford to Donegal, and Kerry to Louth, with a strong entry from Munster and including more than one contestant from at least two counties.

In addition to the overall award, the final judging of which is expected to be watched by around 15,000 people, cash prizes will also be awarded for the cow with the Highest Protein Content, Best EBI, Best Exhibitor-Bred Cow, Best Junior Cow and for the Best-Heifer-in-Milk.

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Hilltara Lanthority Echo 2 took the title across the border into the North for the first time in four years when the honour went to the herd of Sam McCormick, Bangor, Co Down in 2017. She was also named last year’s Royal Ulster Winter Fair Supreme Champion.

The superb cow swept the major awards across the country, including becoming the first ever Irish Holstein Friesian Association Champion Cow, and was crowned Reserve Holstein and Reserve Interbreed Champion at the RUAS Winter Fair in the North. Classified EX95 on conformation she has also been a tremendous production cow with over 6,100 kgs of milk solids produced in five lactations to date.

The 4th calver, Laurelmore Duplex Impala – an outstanding cow, with tremendous style and ring presence and owned by John Barrett & Sons, Togher, Co Cork – was the title winner in 2015, the special year of the Golden Jubilee of IHFA. It came after her success as Emerald Expo Champion in 2014.

Eugene Murphy and his son Sean from Waterfall, Co Cork, had the honour of showing the Champion of the Show twice in four years, with the same superb cow, Dalevalley OTI J Lulu.

She was Baileys Irish Champion cow in 2011, Reserve in 2012, Honourable Mention in 2013 and Champion again in 2014 – completing an unique achievement and a record that no cow previously has ever achieved.

The nine-year-old cow was in her seventh lactation in 2014, having had nine calves. She had produced a total of 4,554kg of milk solids in her lifetime to date.

Bred in Donegal in the Dalevalley herd owned by Roy Cromie, she was purchased by the Murphy’s as a heifer-in-milk.

Four-year-old Sahara Goldwyn Ambrosia 4 VG 89 from the herd of Co Down breeder Neal Pepper took the award in 2013, ending a four-year Munster dominance and becoming only the second breeder from the North to win the top title, the first time being its inaugural year in 1983.

Pat and Derek Frawley from Croagh, Rathkeale in Co Limerick became the fourth consecutive Munster winners in 2012 with Ridgefield Dundee Portea, which had been purchased as an embryo. She added Supreme champion at Millstreet National Dairy Show, 2013 IHFA Champion of Champions, and Reserve Champion at Bailey’s Champion Cow and Reserve Champion at Emerald Expo in 2013.

Dundee Portea achieved considerable success in 2013 including:

• Supreme Champion at the National Dairy Show, Millstreet

• Senior Champion & Best Udder at the Tullamore National Livestock Show